tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36092487543826695452024-09-06T23:32:22.846+01:00Dumont, NJ: Citizen involvement should not happen only on election day. This blog chronicles what happens when we do. We can change, but will we?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-67692303292640555792018-11-05T01:00:00.000+00:002018-11-06T02:22:35.700+00:00

Sad and ignorant:  Keunsoo "Jimmy" Chae is running for a Dumont council seat and leaves this bigoted and otherwise insensitive comment. Thinks he has the election in the bag.   Do we need this type of fabricated divisiveness in our town? Something to think about when you go to the ballots Tuesday November 6:

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-51236040839253021132018-11-04T00:00:00.000+00:002018-11-05T18:09:37.605+00:00

Researching all Dumont Council candidates and came across Jimmy Chae. Would like to know why as "founding member and past president" of AREAA per the pic below is he no longer member today and no one at the chapter he founded is willing to go on the record while members from other chapters hint he separated from the organization less than honorably? Before I am accused of airing "

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-83715293986444339722011-12-31T23:51:00.100+00:002011-12-31T23:51:00.587+00:00

Faced with a loss of their majority in 2012, it appears that the departing regime wanted to leave their mark in a big way. Other than trying to teach us new economics, they leave with what appears to be a political attack document, disguised as an objective report, paid to the politically connected borough attorney and paid for by the Dumont taxpayers. 2004: Less than $5M debt = "financial

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-17417153607132204152011-12-21T11:51:00.013+00:002011-12-21T11:51:00.263+00:00

Last but not final meeting of the year: Some questions: 1. When the borough administrator commended the mayor for running the borough like a business (16:12), did he mean the borough was run like it was taken over by a hedge fund, extracting its value and saddling it with debt from excessive consultant fees and legal yet questionable deals before leaving it in a far weakened state for a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-8688974841747270852011-12-16T23:51:00.049+00:002011-12-16T23:51:00.345+00:00

On the borough website: Public Notice: A special meeting of the Governing Body of the Borough of Dumont will be held December 13, 2011 at 7:00 PM in the Executive Chambers of Borough Hall at 50 Washington Avenue, Dumont, N.J. The subject matter includes NJEIT Phase II Flood Control project and Twin Boro Field Remediation and Reconstruction project. There will also be a closed session to discuss

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-64830323042988412582011-12-09T23:51:00.045+00:002011-12-10T02:06:35.051+00:00

Even though the site does not appear to have had many content updates, local news and commentary now appears in more places than ever! The following are a few of the many updates here at A Better Dumont media network: - Mobile device support. Do you have a web-enabled feature phone or smartphone? A Better Dumont is now mobile-friendly. You can now read posts directly from your web-enabled

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-9610730492625805082011-11-29T23:59:00.026+00:002011-12-01T02:26:43.779+00:00

Meeting Part 3 Kudos to Board Chair Hickey with the show of arrogance during the public session. Go on and show the mayor-elect who's boss of the meeting! One would think that running the board (for how many years?) one would know the proper parliamentary procedure to enter executive (closed) session. Who knew the board chair needed prompting? Note to chair - try studying this for the next

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-65200184292196032962011-11-09T03:15:00.000+00:002011-11-09T03:15:50.148+00:00

Unofficial results winner (does not include absentee ballots) Abrahamsen          1409 Kelly                     2029 Riquelme               1571 Hickey                  1413 Hayes                  

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-85591488386584887502011-10-02T23:51:00.009+01:002011-12-10T01:28:43.924+00:00

In a letter to the September 29 edition of the Twin-Boro News, Messrs. Abrahamsen, Riquelme and Hickey, candidates for mayor and council respectively, states: We have served on the Dumont council. Firsthand, we have experienced issues that concern the Dumont residents. With our vast experience, we will continue to work to resolve the issues that confront our town. The letter concludes: Our

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-47691586438746830372011-04-11T11:50:00.006+01:002011-04-11T11:50:00.183+01:00

As a resident and taxpayer, I feel it is important that we have easy access to financial and operational documentation of our municipality and school district as required by law. Sadly, our school district does not seem to make completing that task easy.  I mean, what is there to hide? While other school districts have Bills Lists and Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports freely

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-12723313028295987652011-04-10T11:50:00.258+01:002011-04-10T11:50:00.536+01:00

Wow, did I have a nightmare, or so I thought... On March 31, Superintendent Triggiano and Business Manager Cartotto made a joint presentation on the proposed Dumont Schools 2011-2012 budget (video here).  The takeaway I had from the hour long slide show was this: Triggiano:  I am pleased to say that if our budget is successful at 2%, we are not planning  on making any major

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-56190354775380400392011-03-29T11:50:00.007+01:002011-03-29T11:50:01.140+01:00

The article in last Sunday's Record about solar panels had a pic where all the panels are pointed neatly in one direction.  I took a look around Dumont and I found them seemingly pointing in different directions.  Take a look for yourself...(click for full size) Directional Diversity? Installed in the AM or PM? Point towards the sun... To the left or to the right? Here's

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-90633148469292838702011-02-13T23:50:00.017+00:002011-02-13T23:50:00.100+00:00

Recently it was announced that in the interest of saving money on utility bills, the borough of Dumont changed electric power supplier from Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) to Viridian Energy. The availability of third party power suppliers have become abundant recently as electrical power prices on the open market have declined to a level where resellers can still make a profit

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-27040321864888888732011-01-30T23:50:00.084+00:002011-02-01T03:39:03.468+00:00

It seems for that for those who have trouble keeping up with the utility bills, you are not alone. It appears that borough hall is having trouble paying them too. It seems that for some months the bill is not paid at all... PSEG 2010 Statements As you are looking through them, you may have noticed empty pages. According to the borough clerk for some pages Finance is having trouble

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-72300012166218567852011-01-01T12:50:00.004+00:002011-01-30T21:13:44.271+00:00

What will the new year bring... Honesty, Integrity and Reliability, Mistrust, Misunderstanding and Obliqueness, or Deception, Fraud and Thievery? For whatever it's worth, I predict 2011 will be an interesting year with full of surprises.  Hey, what do I know... Anyway, wishing everyone in Dumont and the followers via blip, twitter, scribd and youtube a Happy 2011!

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-68473526286011358082010-10-25T23:50:00.050+01:002010-10-26T12:28:17.342+01:00

The October 19 M&C Public Meeting had a surreal feel, both at the meeting and days afterwards.  First, the meeting was delayed by over 45 minutes.  Second, the mayor announced that major contamination that dated to the 1980's were apparently never remediated.  Comments followed from the borough administrator, borough attorney and council members. The usual committee reports

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-13324724466438300282010-10-18T23:55:00.002+01:002010-10-26T02:41:56.683+01:00

Back in July, I emailed the Mayor and copied the full Council on a suggestion that, I thought, may benefit the mayor's self-proclaimed mission bringing transparency to borough hall. This was not just a one-line suggestion that would have required much of the Ordinance and Resolution Committee's time or effort to complete.   With permission, a template crafted by the Open Government Task

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-56752867329394384662010-10-11T23:50:00.005+01:002010-10-21T04:12:01.791+01:00

Recently it has come to my attention that some files appear to be missing from the Borough of Dumont Official Website.  It appears that certain files posted earlier this year for one reason or another did not make the transition from the previous provider (C3) to the current provider (E-government.com). As a public service, files reported missing (meeting minutes, ordinances, resolutions)

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-31936383469702903452010-10-10T23:50:00.013+01:002010-10-12T10:26:48.942+01:00

Recently I received the following request from a council member: I was looking at your website.  I am just curious why you have all of the Democratic Councilmembers and the Democratic Club reports but not for the Republicans? Thank you. As a result, the folder has been updated to include all R-1 forms filed with ELEC by all council candidates running in the 2010 Primary and General

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-74300024899277948392010-09-18T23:50:00.041+01:002010-09-27T06:16:16.102+01:00

Paying for performance is a perfectly acceptable practice.  For example, some folks will go through great lengths to put their children through private school even if it strains their finances.  Why?  Because they feel it is worth it. According to the borough audit summary for 2008 (completed in July 2009), the outside auditor issued nine "recommendations" relating to borough

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-13988373737774636882010-09-04T23:51:00.005+01:002010-09-27T11:46:35.489+01:00

As you may be aware, it has been difficult for an average citizen to obtain borough financial information, even via OPRA.  This is because the borough is only required to publish current and previous year data.  This has made longer duration analysis challenging as many different documents must be stitched together in order to determine whether the many declarations from various elected

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-21893163909335590632010-08-21T12:00:00.053+01:002010-09-15T03:14:57.405+01:00

On the August 17 M&C Public Meeting, ordinance #1455 was passed 5-1-0.  While it was a relief to hear that council members decided to keep their salaries unchanged, it appeared that salaries were increased 3.5% for the staff at borough hall not under collective bargaining.  Though the borough administrator added that the staff now contribute 1.5% of their salaries into their

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-84455407281155383012010-08-13T11:50:00.013+01:002011-12-11T02:40:40.406+00:00

The following is an email exchange with Councilman Matt Carrick when I asked him to instead oppose  Ordinance #1415.  The body of the correspondence appears without editing.  Keep in mind that Councilman Carrick served on the Dumont BOE as a board member before he was elected to the borough council: KC:  I am writing today regarding Ordinance #1415 that passed first

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-74912415731551084892010-08-09T12:00:00.016+01:002010-09-14T21:07:52.162+01:00

With the Mayor selectively vetoing Public Contracting Ordinance #1411 making a splash on the headlines, one is led to believe that a majority of the council is fiercely battling the mayor and his council support member minority.  According to the council president, the council is looking to protect the residents. If that would have been the whole truth... With the sole abstention coming

Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3609248754382669545.post-90031872298745145862010-08-06T12:00:00.139+01:002010-08-14T04:24:51.311+01:00

Dear Editor, I read Council President Harry Stylianou's letter to the editor on August 5th with interest as I have been to most of the committee meetings and have the video recordings online for anyone interested in viewing them. In the letter, he appeared to congratulate himself and the three council members who voted with him for approving ordinance 1411,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com